Not applicable.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to cushioning materials for packaging articles, and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a packaging material comprising a plurality of cushioning members wherein each of the cushioning members is formed of a crumpled sheet of flexible material having a plurality of slits therein for controlling resiliency and a bonding material disposed thereon for bondably connecting overlapping portions of the crumpled sheet of material to enhance the resiliency of the crumpled sheet of material.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
In the process of shipping an article from one location to another, the article is typically placed in a container along with a protective packaging material to fill the voids about the article and to cushion the article during the shipping process. One common protective packaging material is comprised of a plurality of plastic foam, peanut-shaped members, which are commonly known as xe2x80x9cstyrofoam peanuts.xe2x80x9d An advantage of using styrofoam peanuts is the ease with which they may be disposed about an article positioned in a container by simply pouring the styrofoam peanuts from a dispenser.
Styrofoam peanuts have been widely accepted in the packaging industry, however, they are not without disadvantages. For example, the light weight and flowability of the styrofoam peanuts results in heavier objects gravitating through the peanuts to the bottom of the container where the object can be damaged. Also, while the flowability of the styrofoam peanuts facilitates the introduction of the peanuts into a container, the receiver of the package is left with having to deal with the peanuts upon removal of the article from the container in the form of having to clean up the mess left by the peanuts which are easily scattered upon removal of the article from the container.
These disadvantages, as well as the environmental problems associated with the disposal of styrofoam peanuts, has made paper protective packaging material a popular alternative. Paper is biodegradable, recyclable and renewable, making it an environmentally responsible choice. However, like styrofoam peanuts, paper packaging materials, such as crumpled sheets of newsprint, are not without disadvantages in that they are generally not very resilient, and thus, large amounts of paper are required to provide the bulk needed to adequately cushion an article.
An example of a paper cushioning product is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,568,867, issued to Lencoski. More specifically, Lencoski U.S. Pat. No. 5,568,867, teaches a thimble shaped cushioning product formed from a sheet of paper. The cushioning product is formed by inserting a punch through a die with a sheet of paper positioned therebetween so as to form the sheet of paper into the thimble shaped cushioning product. The cushioning product includes a closed lower end, an open upper end, and a tubular sidewall having a plurality of overlapping folds formed therein. Again, the problem encountered in the use of the paper cushioning product of Lencoski U.S. Pat. No. 5,568,867, is that the flexibility of the paper results in the cushioning product not being able to retain its shape when subjected to compressive stresses. Thus, the cushioning products are easily crushed and deformed whereby voids can develop about the packed article during the shipping process and the resiliency or cushioning effect provided by the cushioning products can quickly deteriorate.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,655,500, 4,109,040 and 4,717,613, disclose cushioning dunnage products formed of a flexible, multi-ply stock material wherein the edges of the stock material are rolled inwardly to form pillow-like portions which are connected together along their engaged abutting sides by coining or adhesive. While such dunnage products have achieved varying degrees of success, the manufacture of such products requires the use of specific equipment which dictates that such products be manufactured and then shipped to the end user rather than formed by the end user. This in turn leads to increased costs in the form of manufacturing and the storage and shipping of a voluminous product.
To this end, an improved packaging material is needed which can be manually or mechanically formed from a sheet of flexible material into a controllable resilient cushioning member and which can be formed just prior to use. It is to such a packaging material that the present invention is directed.
The present invention is directed to a cushioning member for use as a packaging material. The cushioning member is formed of a flexible sheet of material crumpled into a globular configuration such that the sheet of material has a plurality of random folds, a plurality of random engaged portions and a plurality of voids. The sheet of material has a plurality of slits, an upper surface and a lower surface with at least one of the upper and lower surfaces having a bonding material disposed thereon such that at least a portion of the engaged portions of the sheet of material are bondably connected thereby increasing the resiliency of the folds.
The present invention also provides a method of forming a cushioning member for use in packaging an article which generally includes the steps of providing a sheet of material having a bonding material disposed on at least one side thereof, and crumpling the sheet of material into a globular configuration such that the sheet of material has a plurality of random folds, a plurality of random engaged portions and a plurality of voids such that, at least a portion of the engaged portions are bondably connected.
In one embodiment, the sheet of material is provided in a pad of a plurality of sheets of material whereby the sheet of material is removed from the pad prior to crumpling the sheet of material.
A plurality of the cushioning members may be incorporated into a package which additionally includes a container and an article positioned within the container. The cushioning members may be positioned into the container to substantially surround the article positioned within the container. In this manner, the cushioning members will function as a protective packaging material which cushions the article during a shipping process.